Perlemoen syndicate busted
2003-12-18 11:03
Cape Town - The Scorpions have arrested 11 members of another major perlemoen syndicate in the southern Cape town of Gansbaai.
The unit's head of operations against organised crime in the Western Cape, Willie Viljoen, said the arrests took place on Wednesday, and that all 11 appeared in the Hermanus magistrate's court the same day.
They were released on bail ranging from R5 000 to R50 000 for the alleged leader of the syndicate, Daniel Otto. They will appear again on February 16.
Last year the Scorpions arrested members of a syndicate allegedly led by another Gansbaai resident, Elizabeth Marx, in a similar raid.
Viljoen said the Scorpions tracked down the Otto syndicate when Marx, who is also out on bail, asked undercover agents to transport a shipment of perlemoen she had bought from Otto through a middleman.
Viloen said he thought the bail set at Tuesday's hearing was "reasonable".
"Of course you can have it increased if you want, but it doesn't serve any real purpose, because we know where the people are, we know they're not going to run away."
Earlier this week, a Cape Town newspaper reported a city restaurateur as saying he was paying R200 a kilogram on the legal market for perlemoen - including the shell.
He was charging customers R700 for a starter portion of the delicacy.
- SAPA